Who We Are

First Lutheran Church is a community gathered around Word and Sacrament, gathered to grow together in faith.  We are a Christ-centered church and are interested in growing in numbers as we deepen our personal relationship with God.

Mission:​ As faithful disciples we serve God and welcome all people with open hearts.

 

Core Values​:  

Our core values are grounded in God’s love, faith in Jesus Christ, and living according to Biblical truth, with the Greatest Commandment reflected in our mission.​ Love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds…and love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12: 28-31). We live out the Great Commandment by valuing the following: 

 

Discipleship & Mission 

We are committed to being a community of believers, developing servant leaders who exist to move throughout our world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, calling all to a saving relationship with Him. We welcome diversity, enfolding all with grace, love, and building faithful connections. 

Education & Faith Formation 

We are committed to teaching and communicating Biblical truths to people of all ages. Nurturing our faith and the faith of others is our way of welcoming all people and spreading God’s Good News. Jesus taught us to love one another, just as God loves us. Therefore, we aspire to give unconditional love.  

Fellowship & Witness  

We are committed to understanding and valuing all people so that our members feel essential to our church’s identity as one church in Christ. We value faith-based connections and relationship-building through fellowship. We strive to bring our faith outside the walls of the church and be the church amidst the world. 

Worship & Music  

We are committed to creating opportunities for meaningful spiritual worship experiences for all. We value the history of collaborative worship and music in the church. We are grateful to God for our gifts and talents, and pray the Holy Spirit leads us to generously share our many blessings with others.  

 

What We Believe

First Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and a member of the Northwest Minnesota Synod. This congregation affirms the confession of faith of the ELCA, which accepts the canonical scriptures as the inspired Word of God and as the source and norm of our proclamation, faith and life. We subscribe to the Nicene, Apostles’ and Athanasian Creeds as declarations of the Christian faith and to the Lutheran Confessions.

The Larger Church (ELCA)

The ELCA is an engaged, active body of people who put their faith in God into action — in millions of ways, all over the world. More than 4.5 million consider themselves members of over 10,000 ELCA congregations. Quality education is important, and the ELCA has eight seminaries, 26 colleges and an assortment of elementary, high school and lifelong learning centers in the United States. Providing help – both by the work of its people and through financial support – the ELCA seeks each day to proclaim the love of God and make the world a better place to live.

We Welcome You

Whether you have been a Lutheran all your life or you are exploring what Christianity could mean for you, we want you to know that we seek to be a place where all people, regardless of income, race, class, status, sexual orientation, age, or gender  are made to feel truly welcome.  We invite you to worship with us and explore whether First Lutheran might be a good fit for you!